The Big Indie Playlist: The best new music of the week
This Easter weekend the music industry is resurrected again with another stellar lineup of new music. Like a bunny leaving chocolate eggs or fresh spring flowers popping up, these new tracks are just as much of a treat.
With hundreds of thousands of new songs released every week, it’s hard to keep up. There can be too much of a good thing, like a sweets-induced tummy ache, as you try to listen to all the new releases for fear of missing out on greatness. That’s where we come in.
Doing the hard work for you and cutting through the noise every week, we’ve spanned the breadth and depths of this week’s offerings and delivered a must-hear play of the best tracks across indie, rock, folk, blues and beyond. Whether they’re coming from huge, established artists like Beyonce, Pond and St Vincent, or even a debut single from a total newbie, we’ve got the best of the best right there.
This week brought about another eclectic mix of greatness. Lorde took on a Talking Heads classic, while the London live scene offered up two new artists to note in the form of Mary In The Junkyard and Sweet Unrest. Then from around the world, we found good new tunes from Japan, Canadian, Niger and beyond. Whether it’s blue-dripped rock tracks or new alt-pop earworms, we can assure you there’s something for everyone.
If you’re looking for your new favourite long play, head to our weekly Alternative Album Chart. But for a quick fix of the best new hits, simply click play on our Big Indie Playlist.
The best new music of the week:
Track of the Week:
Lorde – ‘Take Me To The River’: “Humour, lust, rhythm and ritual course through me. I don’t understand what I’m feeling, but I do understand that the band in the grainy video live with the same strangeness that I do. My palms tingle. My insides are replaced.” That’s what Lorde said about the first time she ever saw a video of Talking Heads performing. Flash forward into her adult years, and her version of ‘Take Me To The River’ is electric with that love and dedication.
As the first thing we’ve heard from Lorde in a few years, this maximalist cover, with its strange, psychedelic production, could be a look into the new music surely soon to come. Lorde’s distinctive vocals sound better than ever as she makes her way through the track with such a real sense of coolness. I want to be her, you want to be her, even David Byrne would want to be her after a cover this good. [5/5]
Instant classics – The biggest new tracks of the week
Blondshell + Bully – ‘Docket’: Blondshell returns with another witty, saying-it-how-it-is indie track. With a real grunge spirit and the perfect addition of Bully’s vocals, ‘Docket’ is a true earworm that’s been stuck in my head all week. [4/5]
Beyoncé – ‘BLACKBIIRD’: On her landmark new record, Beyoncé takes on the Beatles classic to incredible effect. With choral harmonies swirling around your headphones, it’s the sort of song that sends goosebumps scaling across your whole body. Truly transcendent. [4.5/5]
Vampire Weekend – ‘Mary Boone’: As their ode to the art dealer, Vampire Weekend balance high art with a real coolness that perfectly represents the real-life figure. Another great taste of their upcoming album, we have high hopes. [3.5/5]
St Vincent – ‘Flea’: It’s easy to tell that St Vincent has regained the production reigns for her music as her latest tracks feel endlessly more adventurous and cohesive. ‘Flea’ is a genuine thrill, merging seduction, gothic energy and headbanging drops. [4/5]
Pond – ‘(I’m) Stung’: As they announce their tenth studio album, this new track proves the band are still out for big things as they reach anthemic status. [4/5]
On The Rise – Ones to watch
Ellie Bleach – ‘Hottest Man Alive 1995’: Taking on the voice of a bored and infatuated housewife, this track from Ellie Bleach’s new EP is just as obsessive as its subject matter. As an artist who wholly dedicates herself to storytelling, this song feels like a whole film. [4/5]
Mary In The Junkyard – ‘Marble Arch’: Undoubtedly one of the most exciting acts in London right now, Mary In The Junkyard keeps the hype rolling with this hypnotic new cut. With tempos and melodies that change up and dance around, it’s uniquely brilliant. [4/5]
Lip Filler – ‘Follow Up’: An impatient track about impatience. ‘Follow Up’ fizzes with tension and keeps you hooked in waiting as the band boils a whole bunch of 2000s influences together before blowing it up. [3/5]
Tiny Habits – ‘Flicker’: If life is feeling too overwhelming, lie back and hit play on this. The three members of Tiny Habits harmonise as if they’re one united beast with such incredible naturalness and instinct. It’s angelic. [3/5]
Karin Ann – ‘False God’: Alt-pop has a new name to know in the form of Karin Ann. The Slovakian artist balances pop maximalism with indie sentiment to perfection here. [3.5/5]
Ten Tonnes – ‘Little Lovin’’: If what you’re after is all out, feel good, anthemic indie, look no further. Ten Tonnes is back with another foolproof track designed for festival stages. [3/5]
Been Stellar – ‘All In One’: Fresh off the road from supporting The 1975 around Europe, NYC’s Been Stellar are proving themselves to be a new worthy of attention. This rolling and swelling track takes the legacy of the New York indie scene and refreshes it with a heavier hand. [3.5/5]
Sweet Unrest – ‘Years Ago’: Another act coming up in the London scene at the minute are Sweet Unrest, a group that merges classic anthemic indie with a rougher, gobbier Sex Pistols punk spirit. On this inner-child honouring track, they invite you to take your younger self by the hand and bring them indie the mosh pit. [3/5]
Jakki and The Pink Smudge – ‘Going Up’: As spring sets in, this is one of those songs that feels like sunlit. Even after one repeat, I’m craving a long evening sitting in the park with friends, so I think I’ll listen over and over until that day arrives. [3/5]
Margot Liotta – ‘Pocket’: Fans of poetic folk or feeling-full lyricism should be paying attention to Margot Liotta. The young musician is quickly climbing the ladder to serious next-big-thing status as her tender and intimate tracks get more and more beautiful with each release. [3.5/5]
First Spin – The best debut single of the week
Signs Following – ‘The Last Great Mystery’: An incredibly promising introduction comes from Signs Following, a new musician coming out of Chatanooga, Tennessee. This country blues song has a distinctive modern indie streak, even somewhat reminiscent of Father John Misty. Keep it coming. [3.5/5]
Off The Beaten Track – Global sounds and left-field cuts
Mdou Moctar – ‘Imouhar’: The Nigerien quartet return with ‘Imouhar’, a new blue-dipped that bursts to vivid life around the one-minute mark. Blowing up into a vibrant and exciting piece, it’s one to shake the cobwebs off. [4/5]
GOFISH – ‘真顔’: Playing out of Aichi in Japan, this solo artist is making infectious indie with blue slide guitar for good measure. Endlessly cheerful, it’s a nice listen. [3.5/5]
Loic April – ‘Mes Wrangles Et Moi’: Imagine the Strokes if Julien Casablancas was French Canadian. That’s the energy here, and it’s excellent. [4/5]
